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THE 



SERMON ON THE MOUNT 



AND OTHER 



EXTRACTS FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 



A Verbatim Translation from the Greek, with Notes on 
the Mystical or Arcane Sense 



JAMES M. PRYSE 



NEW YORK 

Elliott B. Page & Co. 



Hh 






Entered according- to Act of Congress, in the year 1899, in the 

office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, 

D. C, by Elliott B. Page & Co. 



Albert Adsit CI en. 

Au£. 24, 1938 
(Hot available for exchange) 



CONTENTS. 



Foreword 

Prefatory Note 

The Sermon on the Mount 

The Coming of the Christos 

The True Path of Power 

A Letter of Iakobos . 

A Letter of Ioudas 

The Service of Right-conduct 



3 

7 
32 

45 
53 
7i 
78 



FOREWORD. 

The cordial reception accorded the first 
edition of this little volume has led the 
translator to insert considerable additional 
matter and to amplify the notes, making the 
present edition practically a new work. The 
translation has been carefully revised, and 
the nomenclature slightly changed, without 
in any way altering the sense, to make it 
uniform with a new translation, from the 
same hand, of The Evangel according to 
Idannfc, now in the press. 

That the books of the Old and New Testa- 
ments had an esoteric sense was agreed to by 
all the exegetists of the first three centuries. 
And not only Philo Judseus but even Augus- 
tine held that this inner meaning was the 
same as that of the Mystery-teachings hand- 
ed down from time immemorial among the 
pagans. A large volume could be filled with 
citations from the patristic and so-called 
heretical writings to substantiate these state- 



2 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

ments ; but a single quotation from Dr. 
Mosheim's Commentaries is quite conclusive. 
Speaking of Origen, who " pronounced a 
great part of the sacred books to be void of 
meaning if taken literally," he says: "He 
would have had no enemies if he had merely 
affirmed, what no one then called in ques- 
tion, that in addition to the sense which the 
words of Scripture convey, another sense la- 
tent in the things described is to be diligently 
sought for. This will be manifest, if we con- 
sider who were the men that inveighed so 
bitterly against Origen's allegories after he 
was dead : I refer to Eustatins, Epiphanius, 
Jerome, Augustine, and many others. All 
these were themselves Allegorists, if I may 
use that term; and would undoubtedly have 
condemned any man, as a great errorist, who 
should have dared to impugn the arcane sense 
of Scripture." Yet in the received English 
version, biassed by the dead-letter Theology 
of the translators, this arcane sense is so 
obscured, the psychology so misconstrued, 
and such a materialistic coloring given to it 
all, that no apology is needed for even the 
unpretentious little work here submitted. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 

The following- translation of a few pass- 
ages from the New Testament writings is 
not a paraphrase but an attempt at a more 
literal rendering than the received version 
done from the Latin Vulgate and ' ' diligently 
compared with the original Greek." Waiv- 
ing the fact that the oldest Greek manuscripts 
of the New Testament can not be assigned 
to an earlier date than the third and fourth 
centuries, the originals having been lost, the 
diligence of the learned translators and re- 
visers failed to compensate for their absolute 
ignorance of all psychic things, not to speak 
of things spiritual and magical. They have 
made woeful havoc of the mystical terms 
employed; all their work is vitiated, even to 
the extent of suppressio veri, by their pious 
desire to dissociate what they believed to be 
the unique literary productions of Deity from 
all pagan sources. As said with unconscious 
honesty by the lexicographer Parkhurst, when 



4 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

apologizing for the very unclassical Greek 
of the New Testament : ' ' Let us suppose that 
a person whose native language was Greek, 
and who had read some of the best Greek 
authors, but was entirely ignorant of the 
eastern tongues, had met with some or all 
of the sacred books of the New Testament 
soon after their publication; the principal 
difficulty, I apprehend, which one thus qual-' 
ified would have found in understanding 
their style, would have arisen not from the 
oriental idioms occurring therein, 
but from the peculiar senses in which they 
apply single words; as for instance, pis t is for 
faith, or believing in God; dikaiosune for im- 
puted righteousness ; ktisis for creation, or 
production from nothing; and it will be nec- 
essary to observe, that in delivering this 
precious doctrine which was to the Greeks 
foolishness, it was absolutely impossible for 
the sacred writers to express themselves at 
all, concerning the most essential points, un- 
less they had either coined new words, or 
used such old ones as they already found in 
a new sense. . . . The writers, there- 
fore, of the New Testament, or rather (with 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 5 

reverence be it spoken!) the Holy Spirit 
whose penmen they were," etc. Thanking 
quaint old Parkhurst for the candor of his 
admissions and the delicacy of his humor in 
reducing the Deity, fresh from his successful 
feat of " production from nothing," to the 
necessity of using old words in a new sense 
in the very book where he advises against 
putting new wine into old bottles, we still 
prefer to ignore these "peculiar new senses" 
and return as nearly as possible to the old 
ones. Yet Parkhurst was wiser in his day 
than later lexicographers whose works, while 
more accurate in point of scholarship, are 
more often theological treatises than real lex- 
icons, and persistently ignore the fact that 
the New Testament abounds in words and 
phrases taken from the ancient Mysteries, 
used in their pagan sense, and not with the 
wooden meanings invented for them by igno- 
rant monks and ecclesiastics. For, purified 
from the theological atmosphere which now 
envelopes them, an aura of untold musti- 
ness and of stuffiness unutterable, and with 
the technical meanings restored to the mys- 
tical terminology, pagan in origin, which is 



6 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

consistently employed in them, the books of 
the New Testament, and preeminently the 
four Evangels, stand unrivalled in religious 
literature, only a few other scriptures being 
comparable to them for depth of occult 
meaning, breadth of moral teaching, height 
of spiritual exaltation, or pleroma of tender- 
ness and compassion. 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 1 

{Matthew iv. 23 — vi. 27.] 

And Iesous went about all Galilaia, teach- 
ing in their assemblies, and proclaiming the 
magical Message 2 of the Realm, and 

1 According to Luke, vi. 17, the sermon was de- 
livered on a plain, after Iesous had come down from 
the mountain (or hill). "Mountains" are the usual 
glyphs for force-centres in the aura of man, and the 
psychic and spiritual states of exaltation to which 
these correspond. (The more important technical 
terms are indicated by spacing in this work.) 

2 Gr. evangelio?i, of which "good tidings" is an 
inadequate rendering ; it is a magical Message, 
precisely as the angeloi are magical Messengers — 
ethereal beings of every degree, from the high Gods 
down to mere magnetic breaths. The "Evangel of 
the Realm" (basileia) is the instruction concerning 
the "open eye" and its awakening through the action 
of the Breath (ftneuma) or electric Fire — the 
"Fiery Power" and "World -Mother" of The Voice 
of the Silence. The Breath becomes the "Advo- 
cate with the Father" (fiarakletos, mistranslated 
"Comforter" in the authorized version). The 
Breath {pneuma, wind, air, spirit) is, mystically, 
the Ether of Space; in man, the vital principle, or 



8 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

healing every disease and weakness among 
the people. And the rumor of him went 
abroad into all Syria ; and they brought to 
him all who were ill, being afflicted with 
various diseases and torments, and obsessed 
by evil spirits, and moon-stricken, and para- 
lyzed, and he healed them. And large 
crowds followed him from Galilaia, and Dek- 

electric Fire. It is sevenfold, as given in Rev. v. 
6-14: "And I saw in the midst of the Throne [chair 
of Initiation] and of the Four Beings, and in the 
midst of the Ancients, a Lamb [Neophyte] standing, 
as though it had been sacrificed [initiated], having 
seven horns [or, "wing-like appearances" — auric 
radiations] and seven eyes [the seven centres of the 
Breath], which are the Seven Breaths of The 
God sent forth into all the Earth [psychic world] . 
. . . And I heard a Voice of many Messen- 
gers \angeloi\ . . . thousands of thousands, 
saying with a mighty Voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb 
that was sacrificed, to receive the Force and wealth 
and knowledge and power and majesty and Radi- 
ance and good-will.' And every embodied thing 
which is in the sky and on the earth, and under the 
earth, and on the sea, and all [things] in them, heard 
I saying: 'To him who sits upon the Throne, and 
to the Lamb, the good-will and the majesty and the 
Radiance and the strength throughout the On- 
goings of the On-goings !' And the Four Beings 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 9 

apolis, and Hierousalem, and Ioudaia, and the 
other side of the Iordanos. But when he 
saw the crowds, he went up into the moun- 
tain; and when he was seated his pupils 
came to him, and he opened his mouth and 
taught them, saying: 

Immortal 1 [are] the supplicants in the 

said 'Amen.'" (The On-goings are the Life-cycles; 
the Greek aion being from the same root as the 
Sanskrit i, "to go.") The above initiation scene 
from the Apocalypse may be paralleled with the 
one which concludes The Voice of the Silence : "In 
songs of praise both heaven and earth unite. And 
from the fourfold manifested Powers a chant of love 
ariseth. . . . From the deep, unfathomable vortex 
of that golden light in which the Victor bathes, all 
Nature's wordless voice in thousand tones ariseth." 
1 Gr. makarios, free from fate or death, emanci- 
pated, immortal. The word is descriptive of the 
state of the Gods, and connotes both bliss and 
deathlessness. The makaron nesoi, "Isles of the 
Immortals" — the Gods and deified dead — were 
golden islands floating in the blue ocean at the 
extreme West ; and there the blest dwelt in " a tear- 
less eternity." The pagans apotheosized their heroes, 
the R. C. Church canonizes its saints ; and the first 
step towards canonization is the beatification, or pub- 
lic declaration that the individual is received into 
heaven ( whether the western heaven of sunset skies 



IO THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Breath: because theirs is the Realm of 
the Skies. * 

Immortal [are] those who mourn : because 
they shall be interceded for. 2 

Immortal [are] the tranquil ones: 3 because 
they shall inherit the Earth. 

or not, Jehovah alone knows) and should be rever- 
enced as one of the Blest. The makarioi are the 
souls freed from the bondage of re-birth. 

1 Gr. ouranoi, skies, considered to be the abode 
of ethereal beings and Gods. Symbolically, the 
different states or strata of the earth's aura. In the 
singular, ouranos, visible space, the vault of the sky ; 
the conception appears to be that of a hollow globe 
ensphering the earth and constituting a world for the 
Gods, who move upon its surface as men do upon 
earth. Asa God, Ouranos is the husband of Gaia, 
Earth; the two symbolizing respectively the spirit- 
ual (sidereal) and psychic aspects of the earth's aura 
— the sphere of star-stuff surrounding it, the astral 
(starry) light. They who, by the evocation of the 
Breath, or Fiery Power, awaken the "single eye" 
attain to this sidereal world. 

2 When the soul, after ages of immersion in matter, 
out of world-weariness longs for its primal home, 
then the Breath becomes its Advocate (para- 
kletosj with its Father, or Real Self, who ' ' has 
naught to do with the purgations of matter." 

3 Or, "dispassionate ones." Inner tranquility or 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. II 

Immortal [are] they who hunger and thirst 
after right-conduct : * because they shall be 
provided for. 2 

Immortal [are] they who show compassion : 
because they shall have compassion shown 
them. 3 

Immortal [are] the pure in heart : 4 because 
they shall see The God. 5 

Immortal [are] the peace-makers: 6 because 
they shall be called Sons of a God. 

quiet gives vision of the higher psychic regions, 
{gaia, Earth as a subtile element). 

1 Gr. dikaiosune, the ' practice of rectitude ; the 
perfect performance of duty which leads to illumin- 
ation. To aspiration for guidance in life, the soul 
itself gives answer. 

2 Literally, "be feasted." 

3 Compassion being the purest manifestation of 
the World- Soul. 

4 By all ancient peoples the heart was regarded as 
the seat of the soul. Purity of soul brings the vision 
of the Master or real Self. 

5 The definite article is retained in translating, as 
theos, without the article, does not always mean the 
Supreme Deity in the New Testament. 

6 Those who attain to "that sacred peace which 
nothing can disturb, and in which the soul grows as 
does the holy flower upon the still lagoons." 



12 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Immortal [are] those who have been ex- 
iled 1 on account of right-conduct : because 
theirs is the Realm of the Skies. 2 

Immortal are you when they shall upbraid 
you, and exile you, 3 and say every useless 
word 4 concerning you falsely, on my ac- 
count. Rejoice and become ecstatic ; 5 be- 
cause your recompense is great in the Skies; 
for in this way they exiled the Seers 6 who 
were before you. You are the salt of the 

1 Literally, "hunted," "driven away," "banished." 

2 Referring to the highest of the men-immortals, 
those souls who, though having reached emancipa- 
tion from the bondage of re-birth, voluntarily incar- 
nate as teachers. This properly ends the series of 
nine classes of Immortals, the last possessing, like 
the first, "the Realm of the Skies," or divine 
Seership. 

3 This paragraph is simply in antithesis to the last, 
as the self-exiles are usually slandered and exiled by 
the mob of profane mankind whom they are trying 
to aid. 

4 Or, "Idle gossip." 

6 Gr. agalliathenat, to be frenzied with exulta- 
tion, to be mad with delight. Here referring to the 
mantic frenzy of the Seer. 

6 Gr. ftrophetes, one who interpretes, or declares, 
the will of the Gods. 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 13 

Earth. 1 But if the salt becomes tasteless, 
with what shall it be salted ? It is good for 
nothing any more but to be thrown outside 
and be trampled on by men. You are the 
light of the world. 2 A town lying on the 
hills can not be concealed. 8 Neither do they 
burn a lamp and put it under the measure, 4 
but in the lampstand, and it gives light for 
all who are in the house. In the same way 
let your light shine in front of men, that 
they may see your good [magical] works, 6 
and add Radiance 6 to your Father who is 
in the Skies. 

1 The stable and pure souls of the psychic world. 

2 Embodied souls. 

3 A sacred city among the ancients was usually- 
built upon a mountain or hill, natural or artificial, a 
crypt or underground chamber beneath the temple 
being used for the sacred rites. 

4 Luke, xi. 33, reads "in a crypt," or cellar. 

5 Gr. ergon, a work or operation ; a word techni- 
cally applied to the dramatic performance of the 
ritual, by the leitourgos or priest, or the display of 
phenomena by the theourgos, magician, or thaunia- 
tourgos, marvel-maker. 

6 Gr. doxa, opinion, praise, glory ; fancy, dream, 
vision ; splendor, brightness, brilliant luminosity — the 
aura or spiritual radiance. 



14 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Do not suppose that I am come to abolish 
the Law or the Seers. I am not come to 
abolish but to make full. Amen, 1 for I say 
to you, Till the Sky and the Earth pass 
away, not one letter i or one accent shall 
pass away from the Law, until all things 
come into being. Whosoever, therefore, shall 
relax one of these very little commands, and 
teach men so, shall receive a very little name 
in the Realm of the Skies; but whosoever 
shall make full, and so teach, that [man] 
shall receive a great name in the Realm of 
the Skies. For I say to you, Unless your 
right-conduct much excels that of the Re- 
corders 2 and the Pharisaians, you surely shall 
not enter into the Realm of the Skies. 

You have heard that it was said to the 
people of old : 

1 The Greek Amen is an exact equivalent for the 
Aum or Om, and has no such meaning as "verily" or 
"so be it." It is the mystic Name of the Christos, 
the word used in evoking the Breath. "These 
[things] saith the Amen, the Witness trustworthy 
and true, the First of the Foundation (kttszs) of 
The God" {Rev. iii. 14). 

3 Gr. grammateus, a scribe, secretary ; one learned 
in the Law. 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 1 5 

"You 1 should do no murder; 

"And whosoever shall do murder shall 
be liable to the judgment." 2 
But I say to you, Every man who rashly 
becomes angry with his brother shall be 
liable to the judgment; 3 and whosoever shall 
say to his brother, "Dolt," 4 shall be liable 
to the High Council ; 5 and whosoever shall 
say, "You soulless being," 6 shall be liable 
to the Burning Valley 7 of the Fire. If, 

1 The singular pronoun is here distinguished from 
the plural by being spaced. 

2 Ex. xx. 13; Deut. xvi. 18. 

3 Meaning an inferior court of judicature, consist- 
ing of seven judges, according to Josephus, though 
the Rabbins say of twenty-three. 

4 Raka, a contemptuous expression; its precise 
meaning is unknown or from what language it is 
derived. 

5 Gr. swiedrion, a sitting together ; a council. 

6 Gr. moros, tasteless, insipid, mad ; an evident 
reference to the preceding passage, "if the salt be- 
comes tasteless," where the verb is a derivative of 
moros. 

7 Gr. gehenna, after Heb. ge hinnom, Valley of 
Hinnom, which was devoted to crematorial purposes. 
It is the opposite of Paradise, and symbolizes the 
animal passions in man. 



l6 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

therefore, you are bringing your votive- 
gift towards the place for offerings, and 
there remember that your brother has any- 
thing against you, leave there your votive- 
gift in front of the place for offerings, and 
withdraw ; first be reconciled with your 
brother, and then come and bring your 
votive-gift. 1 Be of kindly disposition towards 
your opponent promptly until you are on 
the Path with him, lest perhaps the oppon- 
ent deliver you up to the judge, and the 
judge deliver you up to the officer, and 
you be cast into prison. 2 Amen, I say to 
you, You shall not come out thence until 
you have paid the very last farthing. 
You have heard that it was said: 

1 Freedom from all uncharitable and impure 
thoughts is imperative before beginning the mystic 
meditation, else will the Fire, instead of rising to 
Paradise (the occult brain centres), strike downward 
into the centres of animal passions — an actual "hell" 
a trifle worse than the fanciful one of the orthodox. 
Similarly, a group of students who are not in perfect 
harmony while studying will only arouse the impure 
and malignant forces of the animal soul. 

2 The prison is simply the physical body, which 
the offending soul will be compelled to inform. 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 1 7 

"You should not commit adultery." 1 
But / say to you, Every one who looks at 
a woman to lust after her has already com- 
mitted adultery with her in his heart. Now, 
if your right eye ensnare you, 2 pluck it 
out and cast it from you: for it is an advan- 
tage to you that one of your members per- 
ish, and not your whole body be cast into 
the Burning Valley. And if your right 
hand ensnare you, cut it off and cast it from 
you : for it is an advantage to you that 
one of your members perish, and not your 
whole body be cast into the Burning Valley. 3 
But it was said: 

"Whosoever puts away his wife, 
"Let him give her a divorce." 4 
But / say to you, Every one who puts away 
his wife, except for the cause of harlotry, 
makes her become an adulteress ; and he who 

1 Ex. xx. 14. 

2 More literally, "trip you up." 

3 Referring to a dangerous reflex action between 
the higher and lower centres of the Breath; the 
terms "right eye" and "right hand" having each a 
special mystic sense. 

4 Deut. xxiv. 1-3. 



1 8 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

marries her who is put away commits adul- 
tery. 

Again, you have heard that it was said to 
the people of old: 

"You should not foreswear yourself, * 
"But should pay unto the Master your 
oaths." 2 

But I say to you, Do not confirm by an 
oath at all ; neither by the Sky, for it is the 
throne of The God; 3 nor by the Earth, 
for it is the footstool of his feet ; 4 nor by 
Hierousalem, for it is the city of the great 
Ruler; 5 6 neither swear you by your head, 
for you can not make one hair white or 
black. But let your saying be Yes, yes; 
No, no; for that which is more than these 
is of the useless [person]. 7 

1 Gr. epiorkein, to violate one's oath; to swear 
falsely. Here both meanings are intended. 
a Ex. xx. 7; Lev. xix. 12. 

3 Is a. lxvi. i. 

4 Is a. lxvi. i. 

5 Ps. xlviii. 2. 

6 Gr. basileus, king ; the hierophant of the nation- 
al Mysteries. 

7 Or, "of no use." Gr. poneros, useless, depraved; 
a term applied to the profane and to those who 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 1 9 

You have heard that it was said: 
"An eye for an eye, 
"And a tooth for a tooth," 1 
But / say to you, Resist not the useless 
[person]; but whosoever shall slap you on 
your right cheek, turn to him the other also; 
and him who would sue you at law and take 
your frock, 2 let him have your mantle 
also; and whosoever shall press you into 
service 3 for one mile, go with him two. To 
him who begs of you, give; and from him 
who would borrow of you, turn not away. 
You have heard that it was said : 
"You should love your neighbor, 
"And hate your enemy." 4 
But / say to you, Love your enemies, and 
speak well of those who call down curses 
upon you; do rightly by those who hate 

practise the magic arts, or sorcerers; as opposed to 
chrestos, noble, worthy, bestowed upon the neophyte. 

1 Ex. xxi. 24. 

2 Gr. chiton, a woolen undergarment, or shirt, 
reaching to the knees. 

3 Referring to the authority held by the king's 
courier to press people into service for the post or 
public service generally. 

4 Lev. xix. 17, 18. 



20 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

you; offer prayers for those who abusively 
threaten and pursue you ; that you may be- 
come sons of your Father in the Skies, for 
he causes his sun to rise on the useless and 
the good, and sends rain upon the just and 
the unjust. For if you shall love those who 
love you, what recompense have you? Do 
not even the tax-collectors do that? And if 
you shall welcome your brothers only, what 
do you more [than others] ? Do not even 
the masses 1 do the same? You, therefore, 
shall be Perfect, 2 even as your Father, 
who is in the Skies, is Perfect. 

1 Gr. ethnikoi, people forming a nation ; the profane. 

3 That is, ttniversal, accepting all men, rejecting 
none. The Perfect (teleioi) are the Initiates, 
those who have reached the Perf ecting-period 
(telos) or unity with the Father. Thus Paulos says : 
"We talk wisdom among the Perfect, yet not a 
wisdom of this On-going, nor of the Archons 
[occult teachers] of this On-going, who are be- 
coming of no account; but we talk divine Wisdom, 
in a Mystery, arcane" (I. Cor. ii. 6, 7). Or as said 
by the Christos in an invocation to the Father: "The 
Radiance which thou hast given to me, / have 
given to them, that they may be one, even as we 
are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may 
be made Perfect in one" {John xvii. 23). 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 21 

Take heed that you perform not your char- 
ities 1 before men, so as to be seen by them, 
else you have no recompense in presence of 
your Father who is in the Skies. When, 
therefore, you perform charities, do not 
sound the trumpet before you, as the inter- 
preters 2 do in the assemblies and in the 
streets, that they may be glorified by men. 
Amen, I say to you, They fully have their 
recompense. But when you perform char- 
ities, let not your left hand know what 
your right hand is doing, that your char- 
ities may be in the occult; and your Father 
who sees in the occult shall repay you in 
the manifested. 

And when you offer prayers, you shall not 
be as the interpreters; for they are very 
fond of standing in the assemblies and in 
the corners of the streets to pray, that they 
may be seen by men. Amen, I say to you, 
They fully have their recompense. But 
when you offer prayers, enter into your 

- 1 A reading of equal authority is "right-conduct." 
2 Gr. hupokritai, "those who explain," as actors; 
diviners, who professed to interpret dreams and 
omens; pretenders, hypocrites. 



22 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

treasure-vault, 1 and when you have closed 
the door, pray to your Father who is in the 
occult, and your Father who is in the occult 
shall repay you in the manifested. 

But when offering prayers do not jabber, 
like the foreigners; for they think that they 
will be understood because of their voluble- 
ness. Do not be likened to them : for your 
Father understands your need before you 
ask him. Thus, then, you should pray: 

Our Father who art in the Skies , thy 
Name be intoned, 2 thy Realm* return, thy 
Will* come into being. 

1 Gr. tamieion, treasure-house, store-room, cellar, 
or subterranean vault for concealing valuables ; here 
used symbolically for the auric sphere, or treasury 
of all the soul's experiences, into which the aspirant 
should withdraw and "close the door" — that is, 
insulate himself magnetically — before evoking the 
Breath, or Fiery Power. 

2 Gr. hagiazesthai, to be consecrated [ to the 
Gods], made sacred; to be purified. The Name is 
the Amen, or word used in evoking the Breath. 
T.he whole prayer, in the Greek, is a magical chant. 

3 Divine seership. 

4 The self-creative- power of the monogenes, the 
one "born from one [parent]," that is, born from 
himself as his own Father. 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 23 

As in the Sky, so on the Earth. 1 
That Bread of the coming day* give us 
to-day ; and free us from our obligations, as 
we also have freed those under obligation to 
us; and bring us not to the test, 3 but deliver 
us from uselessness.^ 

1 The psychic nature has become pure like the 
spiritual. 

2 Gr. epz'ouszon, a coined word found nowhere ex- 
cept in this prayer; it clearly does not mean " daily," 
but evidently "which is coming" or "of the future." 
The Bread is the "Bread of Life," of which the 
Christos says: "/ am that Living Bread that came 
down out of the Sky. If any one eats of this bread 
he shall live throughout the On-going" (fohn 
vi. 51). 

3 Gr. fiezrasmos, a proving, trial, experiment. 
When the Fire of the Parakletos is aroused it is 
liable to strike downward into the generative cen- 
tres, if the man is not sufficiently purified, instead of 
going upward to the brain centres (the "Realm of 
the Skies"). This is the terrible test of his purity; 
and he who fails finds himself in the "Burning 
Valley of the Fire," and in danger of death or in- 
sanity. But if perfectly pure he is not brought to 
this test. 

4 All the conditions and incidents of earth-life, for 
each incarnate man, being regulated for him by his 
own soul or mystic "Father" as a training through 



24 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

For thine is the Realm, the Force and 
the R a dia nee, 1 throughout the O n -go ings . 
Amen! 

For if you forgive men their mistakes, 
your Father, he of the Sky, will also forgive 
you; but if you do not forgive men, neither 
will your Father forgive your mistakes. 

But when you fast, do not become, like the 
interpreters, of sullen face: for they cloud 
over their faces, that they may be seen a by 
men to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, 
They fully have their recompense. But 
when you fast, annoint your head and wash 
your face, that you may not be seen by 
men to be fasting, but by your Father who 
is in the occult; and your Father who sees 
in the occult will repay you in the mani- 
fested. 

Do not treasure up for yourselves treasures 

which he may rise from the uselessness of a mere 
"image" (eidolon) to be a Master-builder in spatial 
life. 

1 Gr. doxa, shining ; the auric body of the Self- 
born. 

a There is an untranslatable play on the words 
here used: "they make their faces unseen in such 
wise that they may be seen." 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 25 

upon the Earth, 1 where moth 2 and rust 3 
cloud over, and where thieves dig through 
and steal; but treasure up for yourselves 
treasures in a Sky where neither moth nor 
rust clouds over, and where thieves do not 
dig through and steal: for where your treas- 
ure is, there also will be your heart. 4 The 
lamp of the body is the Eye. If, therefore, 
your Eye be open, 6 your whole body will 
be luminous; but if your Eye be useless, 6 
your whole body will be dark. If, there- 
fore, the Light which is in you is darkness, 
how great is the darkness! 

No one can serve two Masters: for either 

1 "Earth" is the psychic world, the bride of the 
"Sky," the sidereal or spiritual. Knowledge stored 
■up in the psychic nature is impermanent, nor can it 
be guarded against the followers of the "left-hand 
path," who dig through and steal. 

2 Gr. ses, any small insect, as a clothes-moth or a 
bookworm. 

3 Gr. brdsis, eating, gnawing ; its use in this pass- 
age is peculiar, and some good authorities translate 
it as "corn-worm" instead of "corrosion," or "rust." 

4 The mystic "heart," whose throbbing opens that 
inner "eye" which is the "lamp of the body." 

6 Gr. haftlous, unfolded, clear, open. 

6 Gr. fioneros, here equivalent to "atrophied." 



26 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

he will hate the one and love the other, or 
he will hold to the one and disregard the 
other. You can not be devoted to a God 
and to a Mamonas. 1 Because of this I say- 
to you, Do not be concerned about your 
psychic body, 2 what you shall eat and what 
you shall drink; neither for your body, what 
you shall wear. Is not the psychic body 
more than the food, and the body than the 
garment? Look at the birds of the Sky, 
that they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor 
gather into granaries, yet your Father, he of 
the Sky, feeds them. Are not you of much 
more value than they? Now, what one among 
you by being concerned can add one single 
arm-length 3 to his height? And why then 

1 The precise meaning of this word is unknown. 
It is supposed to signify "gain;" and some have 
supposed Mamonas to be a God worshipped in 
Syria, and equivalent to Plouton, as god of wealth 
and of the Under-world. 

2 Gr. pstiche, the semi-material body, or fisuchikon 
soma. When it is clouded by food-fumes, psychic 
vision is obscured — a matter of consequence to psy- 
chics, but not to those who see with the "open eye." 

3 Gr. pechus, elbow ; the measure of the arm from 
the elbow to the finger-tips. 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 27 

are you concerned about a garment? Medi- 
tate on the lilies of the field, how they grow : 
they do not weary themselves with toil, nor 
do they spin; yet I say to you, Even Sol- 
omon in all his Radiance 1 was not arrayed 
like one of these. 2 Now, if The God so 
robes the plant of the field, which to-day 
lives and to-morrow is cast into the oven, 
[shall he] not much more [robe] yon, O you 
of little intuition? Do not be concerned, 
therefore, saying, "What shall we eat?" or, 
"What shall we drink?" or, "With what 
shall we be arrayed?" For after all these 
things the outsiders 3 seek. For your Father, 
he of the Sky, knows that you need all these 
things. But seek first the Realm of The 
God, and his right-conduct; and all these 
things shall be added to you. Therefore do 
not be concerned about the morrow ; for the 
morrow will be concerned about itself: suf- 
ficient for the day is its own vexation. 

1 Gr. doxa, shining, the aura. 

2 Kings x. 1-29. 

3 Gr. etknos, people living together, family, band, 
tribe, race; particular class of men; here denoting 
special castes of pseudo-occultists. 



28 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Judge not, that you may not be judged: 
for with what judgment you judge you 
shall be judged, and with what measure you 
measure it shall be measured back to you. 
And why do you look at that shaving 1 in 
your brother's eye, but do not perceive the 
beam which is in your own eye? Or how 
shall you say to your brother, "Let me 
pull the shaving out of your eye," and, 
look, there is the beam in your own eye? 
Interpreter, first pull the beam out of your 
own eye, and then you will see clearly to 
pull the shaving out of your brother's eye. 

Give not the sanctuary to the dogs ; neither 
throw your pearls in front of the pigs, lest 
perchance they trample on them with their 
feet, and turn again and rend you. 3 

Ask, and it shall be given to you ; seek, 
and you shall find ; knock, and it shall be 

1 Gr. karphos, a straw, a small chip or shaving ; 
here contrasted with dokos, a beam or joist. As 
Iesous was a carpenter's son, the simile is an artistic 
touch of local color. 

2 The inner life and psychic experiences should be 
spoken of only to those who will understand what is 
said, and not to the ignorant and the incredulous. 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 29 

opened to you ; for every one who asks re- 
ceives ; and who seeks, finds ; and [to him] 
who knocks, it shall be opened. Or what 
man among" you, if his son shall ask him for 
a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he ask 
for a fish, also, will give him a snake? If 
you, therefore, who are useless ones, know 
how to give good gifts to your children, how 
much more shall your Father who is in the 
Skies give good things 1 to those who ask 
him? All things, therefore, that you wish 
men should do to you, even so do you also 
to them : for such is the Law and the 
Seers. 2 

Enter in by the narrow gate : for wide [is] 
the gate and spacious the path which leads 
to the Loss, 3 and many are they who enter 
in through it ; for narrow is the gate and 

1 Luke xi. 13, reads, "give the Purifying 
Breath." 

3 The outer form and the inner meaning. 

3 Gr. apdleia, a destroying; ruin; losing (espe- 
cially losing life). Here, the word is used in opposi- 
tion to Life, and the passage refers to the down- 
ward path of the Breath, leading to generation in 
the physical world, or world of Death. 



30 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

hemmed-in the path which leads to the 
Life, 1 and few are they who find it. Now, 
beware of the false Seers who come to you 
in sheep's clothing, 2 but within are plunder- 
ing wolves. By their fruits you shall recog- 
nize them. Do they gather a cluster of 
grapes from thorns, or figs from prickly 
plants? Even so every good tree produces 
useful fruits, but the rotten tree produces 
useless fruits. A good tree can not produce 
useless fruits, nor a rotten tree produce use- 
ful fruits. Every tree which does not pro- 
duce useful fruit is cut down and thrown 
into [the] fire. Hence, surely, by their 
fruits you will recognize them. 

Not every one who says to me, "Master, 
Master," shall enter into the Realm of the 
Skies; but he who does the Will of my 
Father who is in the Skies. Many will 
say to me on that day: "Master, Master, 
in your Name have we not interpreted? 
And in your Name cast out spirits? And 
in your Name performed many magical 

1 The upward path of the Breath, leading to the 
mystic birth "from above." 

2 Sorcerers simulating the auras of neophytes. 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 3 1 

feats?" 1 And then I shall say plainly to 
them, "I never knew yon; 2 depart from me, 
yon who who wonld make a practice of sor- 
cery." 3 Every one, therefore, who hears 
these sayings 4 of mine and does them, I 
will liken to a sensible man who bnilt his 
honse npon the rock; and the rain descended, 
and the streams came, and the winds blew, 
and assailed that house; and it did not fall, 
for its foundation was laid upon the rock. 
And every one who hears these sayings 
of mine and does not do them, shall be lik- 
ened to a stupid man who built his house 
upon the sand; and the rains descended, and 
the streams came, and the winds blew, and 
assailed that house; and it fell, and great 
was its fall. 

1 Or, "aroused many Forces." 

2 Or, "approved of you." 

3 Gr. anomia, lawlessness, as opposed to dz'kaz'os- 
une, right-conduct; violation of the Law (nomos) 
of the right-hand path. 

4 Gr. logos, the inner thought and its outer expres- 
sion; statement, story, myth; maxim, precept, pro- 
verb; declaration of an oracle. 



THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 1 
[I. Corinthians xv. 35-57.] 

But some one will say, "How are the 
dead ones 3 raised up, and with what sort 
of body do they come?" 

Thoughtless one, that which you sow is 
not made living- unless it dies, and that 
which you sow, you do not sow the body 
which will come into being, but a naked 
grain, it may chance of wheat or of some 
other [kinds]; but The God gives it a body 
just as he has determined, and to each of 
the things sown its own proper body. All 
flesh is not the same flesh : but there is one 
[flesh] of men, another of animals, another 
of fishes, and another of birds. And [there 

1 Gr. chrzstoSy washed, anointed with oil ( after 
bathing). The Christos is the one Anointed by 
the Breath or universal Spirit. 

*The question is put literally, referring to those 
who are dead in the ordinary sense ; but the answer 
is a play upon the word, applying it in a mystical 
sense to those who are prisoned in the physical body. 



THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 33 

are] bodies of Sky-substance and bodies of 
Earth-substance; 1 but [there is] a certain 
Radiance 2 of those of Sky-substance, 
and a different [Radiance] of those of 
Earth-substance; one Radiance of the 
Sun, and another Radiance of the Moon, 
and another Radiance of the Stars — for 
Star differs from Star in Radiance. Thus, 
also, is the Resuscitation of the dead 
ones. It is sown in a destroying, raised 
in indestructibility; sown in a disesteeming, 
raised in Radiance; sown in a weakening, 
raised in force; sown as a psychic body, 
raised as a Breath body. 3 There is a psychic 
body, and there is a Breath body; hence it 

1 Referring to states of matter in the psychic and 
sidereal worlds. 

2 Gr. doxa, shining, the aura. The "sun" and 
"moon" are the positive and negative aspects of the 
Parakletos ; and the "stars" are the force-centres, 
each of which manifests a different color. 

3 Before man, the "dead one," can regain his di- 
vine state, and be "born from above" in the self- 
shining spiritual body, he must destroy his passional 
nature and rise to the permanent part of his being ; 
discarding material desires, he rises to the psychic 
life, in the aura or "radiance"; then through a 



34 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

is written, ' ' The first man, Adam, came into 
being in a psychic form," x the last Adam in 
a life-producing Breath. Yet the Breath 
[body] was not first, but the psychic; after- 
wards the Breath [body]. The first man 

"weakening," a renunciation of psychic powers, he 
rises in the magical "force" (dunamis) of the Para- 
kletos, or the Holy Breath acting as the mediator 
(mesites) between individual man and the One 
Self. The man whose only conscious life is in his 
physical body is "dead"; his resuscitation begins in 
the psychic and is perfected in the spiritual, in the 
"Breath body" (or, pneumatic body, Gr. fineumati- 
kos, from fineuma, breath). Compare John iii. 5-8: 
"If any one be not born of Water and of Breath 
he can not enter into the Realm of The God. 
That which has been born from the flesh is flesh, 
and that which has been born from the Breath is 
Breath. Do not wonder because I said to you, 
'You have to be born from above.' The Breath 
breathes where it wills, and you hear its Voice, 
but you know not whence it comes nor where it 
goes. So is every one who has been born from the 
Breath." In New Testament nomenclature the 
bodies in the three manifested worlds are termed 
respectively "carnal" (sarkikos), "psychic" (fisu- 
chikos), and "pneumatic" (fineumatikos). 

1 Gr. fisuche, astral body ; psychic nature. The 
quotation, if taken from Gen. ii. 7, is not literal. 



THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 35 

is of the Earth, of dust ; * the second man, 
the Master, is from the Sky. As dust, so 
also are they who are of dust; and as that 
which is of Sky -substance, so are they 
who are of the Sky-substance; and even 
as we have worn the likeness of that which 
is of dust, we shall also wear the likeness 
of that which is of Sky- substance. Now, 
I say this, brothers, Flesh and blood can not 
inherit the Realm of a God, nor does the 
destructible inherit the indestructible. Be- 
hold, I tell you a Mystery: 2 though indeed 
we shall not all sleep, yet we all shall be 
transformed, in the Atom, in an out-flashing" 
of an Eye, in the last trumpet-call. 3 For a 
trumpet shall sound, and the dead ones 

1 Gr. choikos, loose earth or dust heaped up ; here 
used metaphorically for cosmic dust, or astral sub- 
stance. 

2 Gr. musterion, a revealed secret, any secret or 
occult teaching; plural, ta musteria, ceremonies of 
initiation; the celebration of the arcane rites. 

3 By rendering atomos "moment," and ripe "twink- 
ling-," the translators of the authorized version have 
added to the obscurity of the "mystery" told in this 
passage. For atomos, "uncut," "that which is indi- 
visible," never means "moment" — as an "atom [of 



36 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

shall be raised indestructible, and we shall 
be transformed. For this destroyed must 
be clothed with indestructibility, and this 
mortal 1 must be clothed with immortality. 
Now, when this destroyed shall have been 
clothed with indestructibility, and this mor- 

time] " ; and though the lexicons give it this meaning 
for the New Testament only, the word does not 
appear in the New Testament anywhere save in the 
above passage, where it refers to the atomic (non- 
molecular) nature of the pneumatic body. Nor is 
ripi found in the New Testament elsewhere than in 
this passage, where a peculiar meaning has been 
attributed to it. The word signifies primarily the 
impetus or force with which anything is thrown or 
hurled. The whole passage relates to the mystery 
of the projection of the pneumatic body from the 
"open eye" at the "last trumpet-call," that is, the 
last of the seven spiritual sounds heard in the mystic 
trance. Thus in the Apocalypse, after the opening 
of the last of the "seven seals," "the seven Mes- 
sengers who had the seven trumpets prepared 
themselves to sound"; and when the seventh Mes- 
senger sounded his trumpet there were "Voices 
in the Sky, saying: 'The Realm of our Master, 
and of his Anointed, has come into being; and 
he shall reign throughout the On-goings of the 
On-goings.' " 

1 Or, more literally, ' ' this which is dead." 



THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 37 

tal shall have been clothed with immortal- 
ity, then shall come to pass that saying 
which is written, "Death is swallowed up in 
victory." x Where, O Death, is your goad? 
Where, O Under- world, is your victory? 
The goad of Death is error, and the force 
of error is the Law. 2 



[Matthew xxiv. 1-31.] 
And Iesous went out, and was going from 
the temple-courts, 3 and his pupils came to 
him to point out to him the buildings of the 

1 Isa. xxv. 8. 

2 That is, through failure to attain to the Christos, 
man remains under the sway of Death, (who reigns 
over the material world), and the psychic world — 
the Under-World (hades); and illusions of ritualis- 
tic and conventional religion are the magical force 
( dunamis ) of Death, the distortions of the True 
due to man's atrophied moral and psychic natures. 

3 The temple-enclosure (hierosj, as distinguished 
from the temple proper fnaosj. Thus in I. Cor. iii. 
16, 17: "Do you not know that you are a temple 
fnaosj of a God, and the Breath of The God 
dwells in you? If one destroys the temple of The 
God, him The God will destroy; for sacred is The 
God's temple which you are." 



38 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

temple-courts. But Iesous said to them: 
''Do you not see all these [things]? Amen, 
I say to you, There shall not be left here 
one stone Mpon [another] stone that shall 
not be thrown down." 1 

Now, as he sat upon the Olive-tree Hill, 
the pupils came to him privately, saying: 
"Tell us: when shall these [things] be? 
And what [shall be] the Sign of your 
presence, 2 and of the Assembly of the Per- 
fect 3 of the On-going?" 4 

And Iesous, answering, said to them: 
"Beware lest any one lead you in wan- 
dering ways: for many shall come in my 

1 The outer temple being a symbol of the Mys- 
teries established among the people, the prediction 
has been fulfilled literally during the Christian cycle. 

a Gr. parousza, the "being present"; but it may 
equally well mean the "coming" or "arrival." It is 
also used for the final "unveiling" (afiokaluftsis) of 
the Inner God to the Initiate. (See note 2, p. 50.) 

3 Gr. suntelez'a, the company of the Perfect 
(telezoz), the Initiates. 

4 Gr. azon, any definite cycle in life and time ; in 
this passage referring to the 2,155 years' cycle which 
comes to an end within a few years of the present 
time. 



THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 39 

Name, saying, l I am the Anointed,' and 
shall lead many in wandering ways. And 
yon shall be about to hear of wars and rumors 
of wars: see that you are not alarmed, for 
all [things] must come into being; but the 
Perfecting-period 1 is not yet. For class 
shall rise up against class, and realm against 
realm; and there shall be privations of food, 2 
and epidemics, and earthquakes, according 
to places. 3 Now, all these [things are] the 
first of birth-pangs. 4 Then they shall deliver 
you up to a hemming-in, 5 and make you 

1 Gr. telos, completion, making perfect, initiation 
in sacred Mysteries ; a term applied by classical writ- 
ers to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Here it denotes 
the period for the initiation of those who, during the 
Life-cycle, have, through purification of the lower 
nature, risen above the physical and psychic worlds 
and attained conscious spiritual individuality. 

2 Not famines only, but also a scarcity of food 
among the poorer classes. 

3 Epidemics and seismic phenomena being due to 
changes taking place in the earth's aura. 

4 Gr. ddis, pain of child-birth. Here referring to 
the birth of the new cycle. 

5 The intensification of forces increasing the bit- 
terness of the psychically unpurified portion of hu- 
manity against the few purified ones. 



40 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

wretched; 1 and you shall be hated by all 
classes because of my Name. And then 
many shall be tripped up, and shall deliver 
up one another, and shall hate one another. 
And many false seers shall rise up, and shall 
lead many in wandering ways. And because 
sorcery shall be prevalent, the love of the 
masses 2 shall become cold; but he who 
stands firm until the Perfecting-period, 
that [man] shall be saved. And this magical 
Message of the Realm shall be proclaimed 
in the whole inhabited world for a witness 3 
to all classes. And then shall come the 
Perfecting-period. When, therefore, you 
shall see the foul thing which depopulates 4 
(which was spoken of through Daniel the 

'Or, "kill you"; but the sense here appears to 
be metaphorical, "weary to death." 

2 Gr. hoi fiolloz, the many, the majority (of the 
people); the profane. 

3 To "bear witness" is to remind men in the ma- 
terial world of that which they already know in the 
world of souls, even though they are unable to corre- 
late the two worlds. 

4 Impurity, such as Neo-Malthusianism and kin- 
dred forms of sorcery, which destroy the "holy 
place," the "open eye," and cause spiritual death. 



THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 41 

Seer) standing in the holy place (he who 
reads let him understand!) 1 then let those 
who are in Ioudaia flee to the hills ; let him 
who is on the house-top not go down to take 
the [things] out of his house; and let him 
who is in the field not turn back to take his 
mantle. And alas for those who are with 
child and for those who give suck in those 
days! And pray that your flight may not 
be in winter, nor on a Sabbath. For then 
shall be a great hemming-in, such as there 
has not been from the first of the world 
until now; no, nor ever shall be. And 
unless those days were shortened, all flesh 
would not be saved ; but through the chosen 
ones those days shall be shortened. Then 
if any one shall say to you, 'Behold, here 
is the Anointed one,' or, * there,' do not 
accept it as true. For false Anointed ones 
and false seers shall rise up, and shall give 
great Signs and prodigies, 3 so as to lead 
into wandering ways, if possible, even the 

1 In English idiom, "Reader, consider this." 
8 Gr. teras, omen, portent ; any marvellous appear- 
ance or incident due to hidden causes and presaging 
coming events ; any occult phenomenon. 



42 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

chosen ones. Behold, I have forewarned 
you. If, therefore, they shall say to you, 
' Behold, he is in the desert,' do not go 
forth; t Behold, he is in the treasure-vaults,' 
do not accept [it] as true. For as the gleam 
comes from the sunrise and shines until the 
sunset, even so shall be the presence of the 
Son of the Man. 1 

"Wheresoever the fallen body is, there 
shall the eagles be joined in combat. Now, 

1 Man (anthropos) is a technical term for the 
manifestation of the Logos during a particular Life- 
cycle. Thus Valentinus says : ' ' When God uttered a 
revelation of himself, this was called a Man." Each 
of these "Men," or Life-cycles, lasts approximately 
2,155 years, or the twelfth of a sidereal year, and 
each has its Spiritual Ruler or ' ' Man sent forth from 
God." Thus, the measurements of the New Hierou- 
salem are given according to ' ' a measure of a Man, 
that is, of a Messenger" (Rev. xxi. 17). The 
^onology is concisely given in John i. 1-7: "In a 
First-principle was [existed] the Logos, and the Lo- 
gos was in relation to The God, and the Logos 
was a God. This [God] it was who in a First- 
principle was in relation to The God. All things 
came into being through him, and apart from him 
not one single thing came into being. That which 
has come into being was Life in him, and the Life 



THE COMING OF THE CHRISTOS. 43 

immediately after the hemming-in of those 
days, the sun shall be darkened, and the 
moon shall not give her light, and the stars 
shall fall from the Sky and the Forces of 
the Skies shall be vibrated. 1 And then 
shall be manifested in the Sky the Sign of 
the Son of the Man ; and then shall all the 
tribes of the Earth 2 lament, and they shall 
see the Son of the Man coming in the clouds 
of the Sky with great Force and Radi- 
ance; and he shall send his Messengers 
with the loud sound of a trumpet-call, 3 and 

was the Light of the Men. . . . There came 
into being a Man sent forth from a God ; his name 
[was] Ioannes. This [forerunner] came for wit- 
ness that he might bear witness about the Light." 

1 The eagles are the usual glyphic for the positive 
and negative forces (whether of man or of the 
Earth); and through their being brought into equi- 
librium the centres from which they emanate will be 
darkened, the forces then rising to the next higher 
world. 

2 The souls who are still unable to rise above the 
psychic world, having failed to attain emancipation 
during the Life-cycle. 

3 The Earth is considered to be a living being, hav- 
ing a psychic and a spiritual nature; and it is to 
these higher planes that the above passage relates. 



44 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

they shall gather together his chosen ones 
from the four Winds, 1 from the one end 
of the Skies to the other." 

1 Those souls of the four manifested hierarchies 
who have earned their emancipation and are entitled 
to become of the number of the Perfect. Here 
the discourse ends, so far as it relates to the cycle 
or racial period ; that which follows is purely psycho- 
physiological, applying to the mikrokosm, or man. Of 
the three parables, or allegories, that of the fig-tree 
relates to the generative centres, the fig being a sym- 
bol of generation, both from the shape of its leaves 
and from its peculiar way of bearing fruit ; the five 
sensible and five stupid virgins with their ''torches" 
or "lights" ("lamps" is a mistranslation) represent 
the psychic or heart-centres; and the three servants 
(or, properly, "slaves") with their talents (five, two, 
and one, the one being buried) stand for the three 
Fires and the seven brain-centres, the unprofitable 
slave, who is cast into "the outer darkness," repre- 
senting the lunar Fire, as does the unrepentant 
thief in the allegory of the Crucifixion. 



THE TRUE PATH OF POWER. 

[I. Corinthians xii. 1-13, 31; xiii; xiv. 1-6, 15-19.] 

Now, concerning- the Breath-beings, 1 
brothers, I do not wish you to be ignorant. 
Yon know that you were once of the out- 
siders, deceived by means of those voiceless 
Shells, 2 even as you were allured. For that 
reason I make known to you that no one 
speaking by Breath of a God calls Iesous 
a temple-offering; 3 and no one can speak of 
Iesous as Master save by the Purifying 4 
Breath. 

1 Ethereal beings, Gods, "spirits," or disembod- 
ied souls, phantoms, etc. 

2 Gr. eidola, soulless astral forms, apparitions 
evoked by the thaumaturgists. Origenes also applies 
the term eidola to them. Iamblichos execrates these 
"empty phantoms" in his treatise On the Mysteries 
(xxviii-xxx). 

3 That is, a mere superstition of exoteric worship. 

4 Gr. hagios, pure, devoted to the Gods. The 
Breath is the agent in the telestic or purificatory 
rites, and the Fire of spiritual inspiration. 



46 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Now, there are diversities of magical pow- 
ers, but the same Breath. And there are 
diversities of services, and the same Master. 
And there are diversities of energizings, but 
the same God, he who energizes all [things] 
in all. Now, to each one is given the shin- 
ing-forth of the Breath for the general 
good. For to one is given through the 
Breath a saying 1 of [arcane] Knowledge, 2 
and to another a saying of Secret Lore, 3 
according to the same Breath, and to an- 
other intuition in the same Breath ; and to 
another, magical powers of healing, in the 
same Breath; and to another, energizings 
of Forces; and to another, Seership; 4 and 
to another, discernings of Breath-beings; 

1 Gr. logos, a discourse ; reason ; a maxim contain- 
ing an inner or esoteric meaning. (See note 4, p. 31.) 

2 Gr. soft km, learning ; philosophical teaching ; eso- 
teric knowledge. 

3 Gr. gnosis, wisdom ; the sacred science of the 
Initiates. 

4 Gr. ftroftheteia, the faculty of a Seer (ftrofthetes); 
speaking from direct cognition. A ftrofthetes is one 
who "speaks for another," for a God, or under 
divine inspiration; hence, a Seer — not merely one 
who foretells future events. 



THE TRUE PATH OF POWER. 47 

and to another, various mystery- jargons; * and 
to another, the interpretation of mystery- 
jargons. 3 Now, one and the same Breath 
energizes all these, distributing to each one 
respectively even as he determines. For 
just as the body is one, and has many mem- 
bers, so also is the Anointed. For in one 
Breath we were all lustrated into one body, 
whether Ioudaians or Hellenes, whether 
slaves or freemen, and were all saturated in 
one Breath. . . . Desire ardently the 
better magical powers — and yet I point out 
to you a more excellent Path. 

Though I speak in the mystery- jargons of 
the Men and of the Messengers, but have 
not Love, I am become [but] sounding brass 
or a cymbal clanging. And though I have 

1 Gr. glossa, the tongue ; word of mouth, lan- 
guage. Here used for magical formulas for arous- 
ing forces, and for oracular utterances spoken in the 
mantic frenzy or state of inspiration. The verb used 
for "speaking" (lalez'n, to babble, chatter, prattle) 
is a peculiar one, and is generally applied in the 
New Testament to speaking under inspiration, and 
to disclosing secrets. 

2 It is noticeable that nine powers are here enu- 
merated. 



48 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Seership, and know the Mysteries all, and 
all the Secret Lore; and though I have all 
Wisdom, ■ so that I could remove mountains, 
but have not Love, I am nothing. And 
though I give away all my possessions, and 
allow my body to become parched up, 9 but 
have not Love, it profits me nothing. 

Love is patient, is kind; Love does not 
envy, does not vaunt itself, is not inflated, 
does not appear fantastic, seeks not the 
things of self, is not irritated, does not im- 
pute evil ; rejoices not in injustice, but takes 
glad share in The Truth; 3 shelters all 

1 Gr. ftistis, confidence, trust ; inner certainty ; in- 
tuition, insight. It is the illuminating power of the 
Parakletos, ranging from mere psychic intuition to 
full spiritual illumination, in which sense Paulos here 
uses it. Technically, fiistis is the power to penetrate 
into the inner planes of being, gnosis is the interior 
knowledge, and softhia is the knowledge retained on 
returning to the outer plane of consciousness. 

2 Alluding to the mistaken monkish notion that 
spiritual knowledge can be gained by the mere re- 
nunciation of worldly affairs and the practice of 
asceticism. 

3 Gr. aletheia, the One Reality ; true Being as 
opposed to the transitory illusions of phenomenal ex- 
istence; the Secret Doctrine of the Mysteries. 



THE TRUE PATH OF POWER. 49 

things, has intuition into all things, hopes 
for all things, bears patiently with all things. 
Love perishes never — whether Seer-vis- 
ions shall be done away with, or mystery-jar- 
gons be made an end of, or the Secret Lore 
be done away with. For our Secret Lore is 
from a fragment, and our Seership is from a 
fragment ; x but when the Perfecting-pe- 
riod shall have come, that which is from a 
fragment shall be done away with. When I 
was a child 2 I talked as a child, thought as 
a child, reasoned as a child ; but since I have 
become a man I have put away the [things] 
of a child. For now we see as by means of 
puzzling images in a mirror; but then y face 
towards face. Now I know only from a frag- 
ment; but then I shall have full conscious- 
ness even as I have had full consciousness. 
And now abide Wisdom, Hope, Love, 3 these 

1 Or, ' ' we know [only] from a fragment, and we 
have Seership [only] from a fragment." 

2 Literally, "an infant," "a baby." 

3 Gr. pistis, faith (see note 1, p. 48); elpis, hope, 
hoping, the object hoped for; agape, lovingness, 
affection, love. The word agape is purely Biblical 
and ecclesiastical, and was evidently coined as a 
substitute for the pagan Eros (love). In the older 



50 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

Three; but the greatest of these [is] Love. 
Be followers of Love, and strive after the 
things of the Breath; but more that you 
should speak as Seers. For he who speaks in 
a mystery- jargon speaks not to Men, but to 
The God: no one hears, but by a Breath 
he speaks Mysteries. 1 But he who speaks 
as a Seer speaks to Men for an upbuilding, 
and an evocation, and an exhortation. He 
who speaks in a mystery-jargon upbuilds 
himself, but he who speaks as a Seer up- 
builds a Society. Now, I desire that you all 
should speak in mystery-jargons, but more 
that you should speak as Seers; for he who 
speaks as a Seer is greater than he who 

Greek mythology Eros was the highest of the Gods, 
and is the same as the Logos; thus, "Eros, the 
most ancient, generated all things" ( Argonautics). 
Hesiodos also assigns the first and highest place to 
Eros, "the most beautiful among immortal Gods" 
(Tkeogony, 120). Faith and Hope were also prom- 
inent in the old mythology: "Hope alone remains, a 
kind Goddess among mortals, the rest have aban- 
doned us and gone to Olympos; gone is Faith, a 
mighty Goddess" {Tkeognzs, 1131-1133). 

1 The arcane teachings or doctrines, which are to 
be expressed only in a secret language. 



THE TRUE PATH OF POWER. 51 

speaks in mystery- jargons, unless he inter- 
prets, so that the Society may receive an 
upbuilding. And just now, brothers, if I 
come to you speaking in mystery-j argons, of 
what assistance would I be to you, unless I 
shall speak to you either in an Unveiling, or 
in a Secret Lore, or in a Vision-seeing, or 
in a Teaching. 1 ... I shall invoke in 
the Breath, and I shall invoke also in the 
Soul; 2 I shall hymn in the Breath, and I 
shall hymn also in the Soul. For if you 
bless 3 in the Breath, how will he who occu- 

1 Here are given, in inverted order, the four de- 
grees of initiation, the lowest being that in which 
oral teaching was imparted to the "veiled ones" 
(mustai), and the highest being that of the "Divine 
Presence" ( fiarousia), the "Unveiling" (apoka- 
lufisis) of the Inner Self of the Seer. Paulos here 
speaks of himself as an hierophant. The four degrees 
correspond to the three worlds and the Pleroma. 

2 Gr. nous (noos), pure reason ; the interior mind ; 
the rational Soul or Inner Man. Unless a man 
speaks from direct knowledge of spiritual things, his 
words have no force and do not appeal to the inner 
nature of his hearers. 

3 The word here used is a purely technical one, 
meaning to employ sound in arousing the forces of 
the Breath. 



52 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

pies the station of the common person 1 say 
the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, 2 see- 
ing that he does not know what you are 
saying? For you, indeed, give thanks beau- 
tifully, but the other [man] is not upbuilt! 
I give thanks to The God that I speak 
mystery- jargons more than you all; yet in 
the Society I would rather speak five say- 
ings through my own soul, that I may teach 
others also by word of mouth, than count- 
less sayings in a mystery- jargon. 

1 Gr. ididtes, a private person, one of the common 
people; ill-informed, unpracticed, illiterate. Here, 
one of the profane or uninitiated. 

2 At the conclusion of the ceremony admitting the 
"common person" into the Society. 



A LETTER OF IAKOBOS. 1 

Iakobos, a slave of God and Master 
Anointed Iesous, sends good- will to the 
twelve tribes that are among those scattered 
abroad. 

My brothers, esteem it nothing but a fa- 
vor when you fall into various trials, being 
aware that the proving of your faith works 
out patient- waiting. 3 Now, let the patient- 
waiting have a perfect work, so that you 
may be perfect and all-round, lacking in 
nothing. Now, if any one of you is lack- 
ing in knowledge, 3 let him ask of The God 

1 Commonly called The General Epistle of James, 
and supposed to have been written either by "James 
the Just" or by "James the Less." 

2 Gr. hupomone, remaining behind ; steadfast wait- 
ing. Technically, the patient waiting for the Per- 
f ecting-period (telos) or Initiation, when through 
the action of the Advocate (parakletos) the puri- 
fied psychic becomes one of the spiritually Illumined 
(pneuma tikoi). 

3 Gr. sophia, learning, philosophy ; arcane knowl- 
edge. (See note i, p. 4?/.) 



54 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

who gives to all openly, and does not chide, 
and it shall be given him. But let him ask 
trustingly, not at all irresolute; for he who 
is irresolute is like the surge of the sea, 
storm-driven and tossed to and fro. Cer- 
tainly let not that man think that he will get 
anything from the Master — a bi-psychic 1 
man unsettled in all his ways. 

But let the lowly 2 brother vaunt himself in 
his loftiness, and the rich in his lowliness ; be- 
cause as a flower of grass he shall pass away. 
For the sun rose with burning heat, and 
withered the grass, and its flower fell off, and 
the beauty of its appearance was ruined. So 
also will the rich [ man ] decay in his goings. 

Immortal 3 [is] the man who remains firm 

1 Gr. dipsuchos. The psychic nature of man, be- 
ing intermediate between the spiritual and the phys- 
ical, partakes of both; until it is purified from the 
material element the unwavering concentration of 
mind required for spiritual insight is impossible, for 
through the conflict of spiritual aspirations and ma- 
terial desires a man is kept at variance with himself. 

3 Gr. tafieinos, of low rank, poor, humble. 

3 Gr. makarios fmakarj, an epithet of the Gods 
(makares theoi) descriptive of their state of death- 
lessness and everlasting bliss ; the highest happiness. 



A LETTER OF IAKOBOS. 55 

under trial; because, having become ac- 
cepted, he will get the crown of the Life 
which the Master promised to those who love 
him. Let no one who is being tried say, 
"I am tried by The God"; for The God 
is untried in evil [things] , and he tries no 
one; but each one is tried by his own Desire, 
being lured forth and enticed. Then De- 
sire, * having conceived, brings forth Sin ; and 
Sin, 2 being fully perfected, gives birth to 
Death. My beloved brothers, be not led 
into wandering ways. Every good bequest 
and every perfect gift is from above, com- 
ing down from the Father of the Lights, 
with whom there can be no alternation, or 

1 Gr. epithumia, eager longing, lust; the "vital 
impulse which leads from one sensation to another," 
the principle of desire which leads the soul to rein- 
carnate — here personified as a wanton woman who 
allures and entices. 

2 Gr. hamartia, literally, "missing the mark"; 
failure; a bad action, a violation of divine law. In 
New Testament terminology it refers especially to 
the fall into generation ; and generation, or "sin," 
brings the soul into the material world, which is 
mystically termed "Death," its dwellers, "the mor- 
tals," being regarded as "the dead" (hoi nekroz) 
who have to be revivified spiritually. 



56 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

shadow of turning. 1 Having willed, he gave 
birth to lis by a Mind 2 of Truth, 3 for us 
to be a kind of firstlings 4 of his embodied 
beings. And so, my beloved brothers, let 
every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, 
slow to wrath; for man's wrath does not 
work out The God's right-conduct. There- 
i fore, laying aside all filth and residue of 
vice, & with mildness accept graciously the in- 

1 The figure of speech refers to the alternating 
seasons and the shadow on the sun-dial, thus con- 
trasting the Timeless Father of the Lights with 
manifested Time as measured by the luminous bodies 
in space. 

2 Gr. logos, the external expression of the interior 
thought, the formative power of the mind; a word 
or saying as expressing a thought. 

3 Gr. alitheia, the Real, as opposed to the appa- 
rent or illusory; the changeless spiritual basis of life, 
which forever is; while manifested life is forever 
becotnzng. 

4 Gr. aparche, the preliminary rite iv sacrificing ; 
the firstlings offered in a sacrifice. Here the mean- 
ing apparently is that the first Men ( the Mind-born 
Sons, the "Builders") were the archetypes of all 
beings in the inferior worlds. 

5 The evil impulses that continue automatically, 
in the lower nature, even after the mind is fixed upon 
virtue, and every effort is toward right-conduct. 



X LETTER OF IAKOBOS. 57 

born Mind, which is able to save your psy- 
chic natures. But become doers of Mind, 1 
and not hearers only, not deluding yourselves 
with false reasonings. For if any one is a 
hearer of Mind, and not a doer, this one is 
like a man observing the face of his birth 
in a mirror. For he observed himself, and 
went away, and immediately forgot of what 
sort he was. But he who peers into the 
perfect Law, that of freedom, and stands 
fast, becoming, not a forgetful hearer, but 
a doer of work, this [man] shall be immor- 
tal in his doing. 

If any one seems to be religious, who 
does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his 
heart, this [man's] religion is foolish. Clean 
and undefiled religion, with The God and 
Father, is this: to look after orphans and 
widows in their distress, [and] to keep him- 
self unspotted from the world. 

My brothers, do you, in paying regard to 
outward appearances, keep the faith of our 
Master, Anointed Iesous, [Master] of the 
Radiance? For if there enter into your 

1 That is, following the inner promptings of the 
Soul, or Logos. 



58 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

assembly a man with gold rings on his fin- 
gers, in splendid clothes, and there enter 
in also a beggar 1 in dirty clothes, and you 
look up to the one wearing the splendid 
clothes, and say, ' ' Sit thou here in a place of 
honor;" and to the beggar you say, " Stand 
thou, or sit near my footstool," do you not 
make distinctions among yourselves, and be- 
come judges with sorry notions? Consider, 
my beloved brothers; did not The God 
choose the beggars of the world, rich in faith 
and heirs of the Realm which he promised 
to those who love him ? But you dishonored 
the beggar. Do not the rich domineer over 
you, and do not they drag you into courts 
of justice? Do they not defame the noble 
Name which has been nicknamed upon 
you? 2 If, however, you carry out perfectly 
a royal Law, according to the Writing, 3 

1 Gr. ptochos, one who begs from door to door ; a 
mendicant. 

2 The term "Christians" seems to have been at 
first a derisive one and a misnomer ; for while Iesous 
was the Anointed (christos), or King-Messias of 
the cycle, his followers could hardly claim that title. 

3 Gr. g rap he, anything drawn, painted or written; 
a letter; a passage from the sacred books. 



A LETTER OF IAKOBOS. 59 

"Love your neighbor as yourself," you do 
nobly. But if you pay regard to outward ap- 
pearances, you commit sin, being convicted 
under the Law as offenders. For whoso- 
ever shall keep the whole Law, but shall 
make one false step, has become liable for 
all. For the one who said, "Do not commit 
adultery," said also, "Do not commit mur- 
der." Now, if you do not commit adultery, 
but do commit murder, you have become 
an offender against Law. So speak, and so 
act, as those about to be judged by a Law 
of freedom. For judgment [is] pitiless to 
him who has not shown compassion. Com- 
passion vaunts itself over judgment. 

What use [is it] , my brothers, in case any 
one says he has faith, but does not have 
works — can his faith save him? Now, in 
case a brother or a sister should be thinly 
clad, and in want of daily food, and one of 
you should say to them, "Go your way in 
peace, be warmed and fed," but you do not 
give them the things necessary for the body, 
what use [is it]? Thus also faith, unless it 
has works, is in itself dead. But some one 
will say, " You have faith, and / have works; 



60 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

show me your faith separate from works, 
and / will show you my faith by works." 
You believe that The God is One; you do 
nobly — the Genii 1 believe [it] too, and shud- 
der! Now, do you wish to know, O friv- 
olous man, that faith separate from works is 
dead? Was not Abraham, our Father, vindi- 
cated by works, having brought his son Isaac 
to the place of sacrifice? 2 Do you see that 
faith participated in his works, and that faith 
was made perfect by works ? And the W r i t - 
ing was fulfilled which says, "Now, Abra- 
ham believed The God, and it was passed 
to his account as right-conduct"; 3 and he 
was nicknamed "God's friend." 4 Do you 
see that a man is vindicated by works, and 

1 Gr. dawion, god, goddess ; tutelary spirit. Prop- 
erly, the daimones were the deified souls of the great 
heroes who are intermediate between ordinary men 
and the perfected men or Gods ; but in later Greek 
the term is applied to the spirits of the dead gener- 
ally, and in the New Testament it is used in a bad 
sense to designate ghosts, spooks and mischievous 
sprites. 

2 Gen. xxii. 1-18. 

3 The words quoted are not in the Old Testament. 
4 II. Chron. xx. 7 ; Isa. xli. 8. 



A LETTER OF IAKOBOS. 6l 

not by faith alone? And in the same way was 
not also Rahab, the strumpet, vindicated by 
works, having entertained the messengers, 1 
and sent them out by another road? 2 For as 
the body separate from [the] Breath is dead, 
so also faith separate from works is dead. 

Let not many [of you] become Teachers, 
my brothers, knowing that we shall meet 
with a more severe judgment. For in many 
things we all trip up. If any one does not 
trip up in conversation, he is a perfect man, 
able to guide as with a bridle the whole body 
also. See, we put the horses' bridle-bits 
into their mouths in order that they may 

1 Gr. angelos, courier, messenger, envoy; guar- 
dian genius ; elemental spirit. In the above passage 
the word is used in its primitive meaning, being 
applied to the two spies sent out by "Joshua the son 
of Nun" ; but usually in the New Testament it has a 
technical sense. In the Apocalypse particular angelot 
(angels) have charge of separate elements, as fire 
(xiv. 18), water (xvi. 5), the four winds of the four 
Quarters (vii. 1); and Iesous is shown in the guise 
of an angel (xxii. 8-16). The word angelos is used 
by the New Testament writers in the good sense of 
the word daimon, and they apply the latter only to 
the lower orders of spirits. 

*Josh. ii. 1-23; vi. 17. 



62 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

be brought to obey us, and we direct their 
whole body. See, also, the ships, though of 
so great size, and driven by violent winds, 
yet they are directed by a very small rudder 
wherever the impulse of the helmsman wills. 
Thus, also, the tongue is a small member, 
and it talks big! See, how great a mass of 
stuff 1 a little fire sets aflame; and the tongue 
[is] a fire: the tongue is ordinarily, among 
our members, the sum-total 2 of injustice, 
that which vitiates the whole body, and in- 
flames the wheel of birth, 3 and is [itself] 
inflamed by the Burning Valley. 4 For every 

1 Gr. hule, forest, underbrush ; firewood ; unwrought 
material; the chaotic elements in space from which 
the material universe (kosmos) was formed. There 
is a play upon the meaning of the word, in the above 
passage (which is profoundly occult), referring to the 
power of sound to arouse the latent evil forces in the 
psychic nature. 

2 Gr. kosmos, the (material) world, shaped out of 
the hule by the formative power of the Logos ; the all. 

3 Or, "generation"; descent into the material 
world.' The soul is considered as being bound to 
the "wheel of birth" because of its repeated incar- 
nations. 

4 Gr. gehenna (see note 7, p. 15). From the evil 
Fire of Hades (the psychic world) come the vile 



A LETTER OF IAKOBOS. 63 

creature, both of wild animals and birds, 
both of reptiles and of sea-animals, is sub- 
dued and has been subdued by the human 
creature; but of human beings not one is able 
to subdue the tongue; [it is] an irrepres- 
sible mischief, full of death-dealing poison. 
With it we bless The God and Father, and 
with it we call down curses on men, who 
have come into being according to a God's 
likeness: out of the same mouth go forth a 
blessing and a curse. My brothers, these 
things should not come about in this way. 
Does the spring cause to bubble over, from 
the same opening, sweet [water] and bitter? 
My brothers, can a fig-tree produce olives, 
or a vine figs? Neither [can] salt water pro-* 
duce sweet. 

[Is there] any learned and able man among 
you? Let him show by noble conduct his 
works by tranquillity of knowledge. But if 
you have bitter rivalry and intriguing in 
your hearts, do not vaunt yourselves and 
speak falsely concerning the Truth? This 

influences that inflame the passions of men, causing 
wrong speech and evil actions, which keep the soul 
within the cycle of reincarnations. 



64 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

knowledge 1 is not [the knowledge] which 
conies down from above, but [it is] earthy, 
psychic, mediumistic. 2 For where rivalry and 
intriguing are, there is anarchy and every 
mean act. But the knowledge from above 
is first pure, then peaceable, equitable, defer- 
ential, full of compassion and of good fruits, 
resolute, without hypocrisy. Now the fruit 
of right-conduct is sown by Peace for those 
making peace. 

From what source [are] quarrels and 
wranglings among you? [Are they] not in 
consequence of your voluptuous cravings 
making war among your members? You 
desire, and do not have; you commit mur- 
der, 3 and are envious, and you cannot attain 
[your ends]; you wrangle and quarrel. You 
do not have, because of your not asking; 
you ask, and you do not get, because you 
ask wrongly, that you may squander [it] in 
your voluptuous cravings. Adulterers and 

1 Referring to false pretenses to occult knowledge. 

2 Literally, ''ghost-like" (dazmom'odes, a coined 
word); the writer is speaking of pseudo-occultism 
of the seance-room sort. 

3 That is, "you entertain murderous thoughts." 



A LETTER OF IAKOBOS. 65 

adulteresses, do you not know that the 
friendship of the world is enemity to The 
God? Therefore, whoever wills to be a 
friend of the world renders himself an 
enemy of The God. Or do you fancy that 
it is in a literal sense 1 the Writing says, 
"Even to enviousness yearns the Breath 
which dwells in us." 2 But it gives a very 
great favor; therefore [the Writing] says, 
"The God opposes the arrogant, but gives 
favor to the lowly." 3 Therefore, obey The 
God. Oppose the Adversary, and he 
will flee from you. Come near to The 
God, and he will come near to you. Cleanse 
your hands, sinful [men], and purify your 
hearts, bi -psychic [men]. Endure hard 
labor, and mourn and lament; let your 

1 Gr. kenos, emptily, inanely ; superficially, in ap- 
pearance only. 

2 This quotation, like a number of others in the 
New Testament, is not to be found in the Old Tes- 
tament books. The theologians — failing to see that 
it is a poetical hyperbole, which Iakobos quotes iron- 
ically — have argued much over its meaning. The 
revised version gives three distinct translations of 
it, each of which misses the point of the joke. 

3 Prov. iii. 34. 



66 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

laughter be changed into mourning, and 
your gladness into shame. Become lowly 
in front of the Master, and he will lift 
you up. 

Brothers do not tattle 1 about one another. 
He who tattles about a brother, or judges his 
brother, tattles about the Law, and judges 
the La Wo Now, if you judge the Law, 
you are not a doer of the Law, but a judge. 
One there is who is Lawgiver and Judge — 
he who is able to save and to destroy. But 
who are you who judge your fellow? 

Come now! you who say, "To-day and to- 
morrow we will go into this or that city, and 
spend a year there, and carry on business, 
and gain profit" — you who have no certain 
knowledge about the morrow. For what is 
your life? Why, 'tis a vapor, for a little 
while appearing, and then disappearing. 
Instead, you should say, 3 "If the Master 
wills, we shall not only be alive but also we 
shall do this or that." But now you are 

1 Gr. katalalein, to babble, blab ; to talk down, 
slander. 

2 Or, "instead of your saying [as you should]," the 
two preceding sentences being parenthetical. 



A LETTER OF IAKOBOS. 67 

over-confident in your empty boasting. All 
such over-confidence is useless. Now, when 
one knows [what is] right, and does not do 
[it], to him it is sin. 

Come now! you rich [men]; lament and . 
wail loudly for your hardships which are 
at hand. Your riches 1 have rotted, and 
your garments have become moth-eaten. 
Your gold and your silver have grown rusty, 
and their rust shall be for a witness against 
you, and shall devour your bodies 2 like fire. 
You have hoarded treasures on the last 
days. See, the pay of the workmen who 
mowed your fields, which is withheld 3 by 
you, is crying out, and the supplicating cries 
of the reapers have come to the ears of the 
Master of Hosts. You have lived luxuri- 
ously on the earth, and have been sensual; 
you have nourished your hearts on a day of 

1 That is, stores of grain, which, with webs of fine 
cloth, and gold and silver ingots and coin, consti- 
tuted their hoarded wealth. 

2 Literally, "fleshes," the term "flesh" (sarx) be- 
ing a common one in the New Testament for the 
physical body. 

3 Or, "left unpaid," implying injustice and fraud. 



68 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

slaughter. 1 You have condemned, you have 
murdered the just [man]; 3 he does not re- 
sist you. 

Be far-purposed, then, brothers, until the 
presence 3 of the Master. See, the tiller of 
the soil waits for the precious fruit of the 
earth, being far-purposed over it until he 
gets the early and the late fruitage. 4 Do 
you be far-purposed also ; render constant 
your hearts, because the presence of the 
Master is near. Brothers, do not utter com- 
plaints against one another, that you may 
not be judged. See, the Judge is standing 
before the doors! My brothers, take as an 
example of suffering 5 and far-purpose the 

1 Jer. xii. 3. The sensualist is represented as 
pampering his lower nature and having no more 
forethought than has a stall-fed animal. 

2 Evidently a generic term, as "just men in gen- 
eral" — the oppressed poor. 

3 Gr. parousza. (See note 2, p. 38.) 

4 Some manuscripts read, "until it receives the 
vernal and the autumnal rains" — which does not 
make good sense. The reading "harvest" or "fruit- 
age" is preferable. 

5 Literally, "suffering ill," "distressed"; but here 
more probably for "patient endurance of suffering." 



A LETTER OF IAKOBOS. 69 

Seers who spoke in the Name of the Mas- 
ter. See, we immortalize the patient-waiting 
ones; you have heard of Job's patient- wait- 
ing, and you saw the Master's Perfecting- 
period, 1 because very deeply pitying is the 
Master, and merciful. 

Now, above all things, my brothers, do 
not confirm by an oath, neither by the Sky, 
nor by the Earth, nor by any other oath; 
but let yours be the "Yes, yes," and the 
"No, no"; so that you may not fall under 
judgment. 

Is any one among you suffering? Let 
him offer prayers. Is any one happy? Let 
him break into song. Is any one among 
you sick? Let him call to his aid the older 
[members] of the Society, and let them offer 
prayers over him, having oiled him with 
tree-oil 3 in the Name of the Master; and 
the entreaty of faith will save the worn-out 

1 Gr. telos, the consummating period, the end ; in- 
itiation in the Mysteries. The story of Job is an 
allegory of the trials of a neophyte (Gr. neophutos, 
"newly planted") or candidate for initiation. 

2 Olive oil, palm oil, etc. , used after bathing, and 
in magnetic (mesmeric) operations. 



70 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

[man], and the Master will raise him up; 
and if he has committed sins, it will be 
forgiven him. Confess to one another your 
sins, and offer prayers over one another, so 
that you may be healed. The beseeching 
of a just [man] has much power when it 
energizes. 1 Helias 2 was a man having the 
same feelings as ourselves, and he, in a 
prayer, prayed for it not to rain; and it did 
not rain on the earth for three years and 
six months. And he prayed again, and the 
sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth 
her fruit. 3 

My brothers, if any one among you wan- 
ders from the Truth, and any one guides 
him back, let him know that he who guides 
back a sinner out of his wandering path 
will save a psychic-nature 4 from death and 
will cover a multitude of sins. 

1 A technical word for arousing occult forces. 

2 The Greek form for "Elijah." 

3 I. Kings xvii. 1-7 ; xviii. 41-45. 

4 Gr. fisuche, the animal soul ; the astral man. 



A LETTER OF IOUDAS. 1 

Ioudas, a slave of Anointed Iesous, and 
brother of Iakobos, 3 to the probationers 3 be- 
loved by [The] God [and] Father and 
kept by Anointed Iesous. May compas- 
sion and peace and love be fulfilled to you. 

Loved ones, making all haste to write 
to you concerning the common salvation, I 

1 Supposed to have been written by Ioudas the 
brother of Iakobos "the Just"; he was also called 
Thaddaios or Lebbaios. Six or seven "Judases" are 
mentioned in the New Testament besides "Judas the 
accuser," who betrayed his Master. The latter, in 
the mystical Evangel according to Ioannes, repre- 
sents the evil (sexual) aspect of the Fire ; while the 
good Ioudas is the pupil whose questioning brings 
out the Master's teaching concerning the Parakletos. 

2 Luke vi. 16. 

3 Literally, "called," "invited." The probation- 
ers, after being accepted, were termed "chosen" or 
"culled out"; and having been tested, they were 
recognized as trustworthy. Thus in the Apocalypse 
(xvii. 14) are mentioned the "called fkletotj, and 
chosen (eklektoi), and trustworthy (pzstoij." 



72 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

feel it an urgent duty 1 that I should write 
you calling on you to contend strenuously 
for the Faith which was once for all handed 
down to the Purified ones. For there 
have slipped in stealthily into this judgment 2 
certain [men], the proscribed of old times, 3 
sacrilegious, changing The God's favor into 
wantonness, and disowning the only Over- 
lord 4 and our Master Anointed Iesous. 
Now, I wish to remind you — [though] you 
know this 5 once for all — that the Master, 
having saved a people out of the land of 
Egypt, next 6 destroyed those who did not 

1 Literally, "I had necessity." 

2 Gr. kri?na, that which requires discrimination, or 
calls for consideration; a decision, distinction; sen- 
tence, condemnation ; accusation, charge. Here it 
refers to the separating of the unworthy probationers 
from the worthy ones. 

3 That is, those who had been expelled from the 
Society in past incarnations. The writer uses a legal 
term : the Roman practice was to post up in public a 
list of the names of persons sentenced, who were 
therefore called "the proscribed." 

4 Gr. desfiotes, a slave-master ; despot, absolute 
ruler; owner, lord. 

6 A variant reading is "all things." 
6 In the Greek idiom, "secondly." 



A LETTER OF IOUDAS. 73 

put faith in [him]; 1 and the Messengers 
who did not keep their First-principle, 2 
but abandoned their own dwelling, he has 
kept in perpetual fetters, under nether-world 
gloom, 3 till [the] judgment of a great day; 4 
even as [ the inhabitants of ] Sodom and 
Gomorra, 6 and the cities near them, having, 
in the same way as these [men], beconie 
utterly lascivious and having gone away after 
strange flesh, are held out as an example, 
undergoing a penalty of On-going Fire. 
Still, similarly these [men], also, in their 
dreamings 9 contaminate the flesh, and disre- 
gard Masterships, and revile Radiances. 
But Michael the Arch-messenger, when 
disputing with the Accuser he argued 

1 Num. xiv. 29-31; Psa. cvi. 25, 26. 

2 The purely spiritual or androgynous condition. 

3 Gr. zofihos, thick darkness ; the night side of the 
world, the land of gloom, the nether-world. The 
souls that fell into generation are in the bondage of 
matter, being as it were, imprisoned psychically. 

4 At the close of each "great day," or cycle, those 
souls that have become pure are liberated. 

5 Ge?i. xix. 24, 25; Deut. xxix. 23. 

6 That is, having empty dreams, as opposed to 
true visions. 



74 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

about the body of Moses, did not venture 
to assail him with a reviling-judgment, but 
said, "May the Master rebuke you." 1 Now, 
these [men] revile all things 2 that they do 
not understand, and all things that they do 
perceive psychically — as [do also] the irra- 
tional animals 3 — in these things they are 
corrupted. Alas for them! for they trav- 
elled the path of Kain, 4 and rushed headlong 
in the wandering way of Balaam after pay, 5 
and were ruined in the rebellion of Kore. 6 

1 This story is supposed to be taken from a book 
— now lost — called The Ascension (anabasis) of 
Moses. The words quoted are also found in Zech. 
iii. 2. 

2 Literally, "as many things as." 

8 The psychic faculties pertain to the animal-soul, 
and are possessed by the animals as well as by man. 
Psychic perception, unless devoted solely to spiritual 
purposes, degrades the inner nature and brings into 
play the base passions. 

4 That is, " the proscribed" had in a past incarna- 
tion violated the vow of celibacy — Kain being a type 
of the fall into physical generation. 

5 Balaam, the enchanter, was tempted to do magic 
for a reward in gold and silver. 

8 Num. xvi. 1-33. The sin of Kore was ambition, 
and he promoted a faction. 



A LETTEF OF IOUDAS. 75 

These [men] are blemishes 1 in your love- 
feasts, 2 when feasting with you, fearlessly 
shepherding thejnselves;* rainless 4 clouds, 
borne along by winds; unfruitful autumnal 
trees, twice dead, 5 uprooted; wild waves of 
the sea, foaming out their own disgraces; 
wandering stars, for whom the nether- 
world gloom has been kept throughout the 
On-going. Now, to these [men] also 
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, spoke as 
a Seer, saying: 

"Behold, [the] Master came with his 
countless Purified ones, to execute judg- 

1 Literally, "rocks," or "reefs"; but probably 
"stains" or "spots" was intended. Apparently the 
original read, "a stain" (sftilos), which the copyist 
changed to the plural, and, mistaking the word for 
s fiil as (a rock), wrote sfiilades instead of sfiiloi. 

2 Before or after the rite of the "Master's supper" 
was celebrated that of the "feast of love," and on 
the breaking up of the assembly the "brothers and 
sisters" expressed their good-will by exchanging the 
"kiss of peace." 

3 Having rejected Iesous, the "good Shepherd"; 
or possibly, "shepherding themselves [and not the 
flock]." 

4 Literally, "waterless." 

6 That is, not having borne fruit for two seasons. 



76 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

ment upon all, and to convict all the sac- 
rilegious ones of their works of sacrilege 
which they sacrilegiously did, and of all the 
hard words which sacrilegious sinners have 
spoken about him." 1 

These [men] are murmurers, fault-finders, 
walking according to their own desires — and 
their mouth speaks turgid [phrases] — prais- 
ing people for the sake of advantage. 

But do you, loved ones, remember the 
words which were proclaimed by the dele- 
gates 2 of our Master Anointed Iesous, that 
they said to you: 

1 'In [the] last time there will be scoffers, 
walking according to their own sacrilegious 
desires." 3 

These [men] are the separatists, psychics, 
not having [the] Breath. But you, loved 

1 The Book of Enoch, from which the above quo- 
tation is taken, was lost for many centuries, but a 
copy of it was discovered in Abyssinia ; yet although 
it is thus endorsed by Ioudas, it has never been re- 
ceived as canonical. 

2 Gr. apostolos, one sent forth with orders ; envoy, 
messenger. The word is applied to Iesous, to the 
twelve pupils, and to others. 

3 From what writing this is quoted is not known. 



A LETTER OF IOUDAS. 77 

ones, rebuilding yourselves on your most 
consecrated Faith, offering prayers in [the] 
Purifying Breath, keep yourselves in the 
love of [The] God, expecting the compassion 
of our Master Anointed Iesous throughout 
On-going Life. And treat some [of the 
scoffers] with contempt 1 when they argue 
with you ; but others save with fear, 2 snatch- 
ing them out of the Fire, hating even the 
garment 3 spotted by the flesh. 

Now, to him who is able to guard you 
from stumbling and by ecstacy 4 to place 
you blameless in front of his Radiance, 
to [the] only God, our Saviour through 
Anointed Iesous, [be] Radiance and 
greatness, strength and liberty, 6 both now 
and throughout all the On-goings. Amen! 

1 Some manuscripts read, "and show compassion 
to some." 

2 That is, being careful not to become contami- 
nated by their evil magnetism. 

3 Gr. chiton, a woolen frock. 

4 Gr. agalh'aszs, exultation; man tic frenzy — the 
highest trance, in which the soul is for the time 
liberated from the body. 

5 Gr. exousia, permission (to do a thing), license; 
jurisdiction, authority. 



THE SERVICE OF RIGHT-CONDUCT. 1 

[Luke x. 25-37.] 

And behold, a certain Lawyer 2 rose up, 
trying him, and saying - : 

"Teacher, what shall I do that I may 
inherit On-going Life?" 

And he said to him: 

"What is written in the Law? How do 
you read [it]?" 

And he, answering, said: 

"'You should love The God, your 
Master, from your whole heart, and from 
your whole psychic-nature, and from your 

1 The Old Testament (ftalaia diatheke, "old com- 
pact"), or Mosaic Law, which imposed ritualistic ob- 
servances relating to psychic forces that affect the 
material life, was called by Paulos "the service of 
Death" and "the service of over-distinction" (kata- 
krisis); but the New Testament ("compact"), or 
code of Iesous, which enforces practical ethics based 
upon the great spiritual law of Compassion, he calls 
"the service of right-conduct." (II. Cor. iii. 6-9.) 

8 An interpreter and teacher of the Mosaic Law. 



THE SERVICE OF RIGHT-CONDUCT. 79 

whole strength, and from your whole 
mind; 1 and [you should love] your neigh- 
bor as yourself.'" 2 

And he said to him: 

"You have answered aright. Do this, 
and you shall have Life." 

Now, wishing to justify himself, he said 
to Iesous: 

"And who is my 'neighbor'?" 

Now, Iesous, replying, said: 

"A certain man was going down from 
Hierousalem to Hiericho, and he fell among 
bandits, 3 who not only stripped him but also 
inflicted blows on [him], and went away, 
leaving [him] half-dead. Now, according 
to chance, a certain priest was going down 
by that path, and seeing him, he went along 
on the opposite side [of the path]. And 
in like manner also a Levite 4 coming to be 
near the place, went and saw [him], and 

1 Gr. dzanoza, reasoning faculty ; understanding. 

2 Deut. vi. 5; Lev. xix. 18. 

3 Gr. lestes, plunderer, despoiler ; pirate ; brigand, 
robber. 

4 The Levites were assistants of the priests and 
care-takers of the temple. 



SO THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 

went along on the opposite side. Now, a 
certain Samareitan, 1 as he was traveling, 
went near him, and seeing him he was 
stirred to pity; and approaching, he bound 
up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and 
having put him on his own beast, brought 
him to an inn, and took care of him. And 
on the morrow, taking out two denarii* he 
gave [them] to the inn-keeper, and said, 
'Take care of him, and whatever you may 
spend in addition, / — on my return — will 
pay you.' Which of these three, think you, 
became a 'neighbor' of the one who fell 
among the bandits?" 

And he said: 

"The one who showed compassion towards 
him." 

And Iesous said to him: 

"Go your way, and do you show [it] in 
like manner." 

1 The people of Samareia, being a mixed race and 
not of pure Ioudaian descent, were held in contempt 
by the Ioudaians, who had "no friendly dealings" 
with them. {John iv. 9.) 

2 The Roman denarius was a silver coin of the value 
of fifteen to seventeen cents, according to coinage. 



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